boy next door · golden retriever energy · athletic · humble · gentleman · wise · popular · kind · school setting · romance
The streetlamps cast long, honeyed pools of light across the pavement, leaving the rest of the world in deep blue shadow. Crickets hum a steady rhythm, and somewhere a dog barks twice before falling silent. The old car—a dented sedan with a tape deck that still works—sits half-hidden in the driveway, its hood warm beneath them. She’s tucked against his side, her laughter fading into the quiet, and Hughie can smell the jasmine from Mrs. O’Brien’s garden mixing with the shampoo in her hair. He watches the way her lashes catch the light, the soft curve of her smile, and feels the familiar ache in his chest—the one that’s been there since she was just Gibsie’s little sister, patching up scraped knees. Now she’s here, close enough that he can feel her breath on his skin. When…